Japan Circa 1972: Setting the Stage for Okinawan Reversion
To set the stage for our series of events on Okinawan Reversion, we’ve invited professor Igarashi to discuss the contents of his recent book Japan, 1972: Visions of Masculinity in an Age of Mass Consumerism. Graduate student and OMI scholar Drew Richardson will be moderating the discussion. This event is made possible thanks to the Gilbert and Margaret Nee Fund in Asian Studies.
This event has already happened, but you can find a recording of it below!
Event Info:
December 17 4:30pm PST
December 18 9:30am JST
50 Years Later
The Okinawa Memories Initiative is proud to announce that our next year of programming is focused on the 50th Anniversary of Okinawa’s return to Japan. After 27 years of U.S. Occupation, and 66 years of being a Japanese semi-colony, Okinawa was formally returned to Japan on May 15, 1972. But this was not simply a singular moment. When we say ‘Reversion’, we envision the lived experiences of thousands of Okinawans across the country who experienced a major political, economic and social shift.
At OMI, we believe that speaking about Okinawa is to speak about the world. The political ramifications of Okinawa’s new status as a Japanese Prefecture rippled across the world’s waters. Beyond that, the everyday lives of Okinawans changed irrevocably, not only in large ways, but in small ways as well.
Throughout this speaker series, OMI wants to collaboratively explore questions such as:
- What has changed for Okinawans in the past 50 years?
- What does Reversion represent as a political watershed for Okinawa?
- What sorts of politics became possible/impossible under this new transition?
- How did Reversion impact peoples’ everyday lives?
- How do we understand Okinawa’s Reversion within a global context?
- What does the word ‘Reversion’ politically achieve?
- What is Okinawa reverting to and how does it affect its socio-economic realities?
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